Signature Bank 2nd Lender To Fail In Last Three Days, 3rd Largest Bank Failure In US History

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New Delhi: Two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank in a collapse that left billions in savings unclaimed, state regulators shut down New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, the third-largest failure in US banking history.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) assumed management of Signature, which, according to the New York State Department of Financial Services, had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 billion in deposits at the end of the previous year. ()

The US Treasury Department and other bank authorities declared in a joint statement that "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer" and that all of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will get full compensation. ()

According to a Reuters reporter on the scene, workers appeared to congregate at the company's Manhattan headquarters on Sunday for meetings while ordering catering from the Italian restaurant Carmine's and Starbucks coffee.

Upon the announcement of the closure, a small number of people slowly left the premises. An inquiry for comments was not immediately answered by the lender's representatives.

The fall of Silicon Valley Bank, the second-largest in American history after Washington Mutual, which went down during the 2008 financial crisis, was followed by that of Signature on Friday.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York expressed her hope in a statement that the American government's measures on Sunday will lead to "greater confidence in the safety of our banking sector."

Small businesses, notably those driving the innovation sector, make up a large portion of the depositors at these banks, and their success is essential to New York's thriving economy, she said.

Authorities said on Sunday that senior management of both institutions has been replaced, and that shareholders and some unsecured debtholders of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will not be protected.